Antique/Vintage Porcelain Cat Teapot, Chinese Republic
$130.00
This charming antique white glazed porcelain figurine is a cat teapot with a raised paw with removable head for pouring liquid into the vessel and long sinuous tail as a handle to pour liquid from the opening at the end of the paw. The hand painted design is whimsical and colorful with a thin ribbon-like blue collar and a dangling ornamental bow with black accents defining the face, ears, head and paws.
Description
In China and Japan cats are often portrayed in the form of Small-Teapots that provide individualized servings and better retain heat for the tea. Porcelain with a glaze surface was the preferred form for these teaware Pouring-Vessels as it was viewed as more elegant. Since Mao (猫), the word for cat in Chinese, is a homophone for octogenarian, it has been a well-known Chinese longevity symbol (shou 壽). Chinese Republic Cat-Teapots are often portrayed with a raised paw as its spout, a popular motif of a “beckoning cat” like the famous Japanese Maneki Neko widely used in feng shui, especially among Chinese merchants, as a greeting and welcoming gesture and to promote and maintain positive energy and bring in good luck and fortune. These pots often have long ribbons (shoudai) around their necks as a homophone and symbol for longevity (shou 壽). These charming teapots enrich any space and as symbolic wish for a long life and good luck make special gifts for any occasion, especially birthdays. As with any antiques we advise they be used only for decorative purposes. It is in excellent with minor, normal dark dot-like firing imperfections as on most white glazed objects, minor discoloration and scratches demonstrating its age and use. There are Chinese characters within a circled seal in the mold on the bottom.
Sources
Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, San Francisco, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006, p. 162.
Patricia Bjaaland Welch, Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery, Rutland, Tuttle Publishing, 2008, p. 92.
Additional information
| Weight | 5 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 10 × 10 × 10 in |
| Place of Origin | China |
| Date | 1890-1920 |
| Materials and Technique | Porcelain |
| Dimensions (inches) | Ht: 6.25” W: 5.5” D: 3.25” |
| Dimensions (metric) | Ht: 15.87cm W: 13.97cm D:8.26cm |
| Condition | Excellent, fine patina demonstrating age and use |
| Reference Number | 16944B-TLE |
| Shipping Box Size |
